Spacecraft could be fuelled by space junk collected in orbit

Magdrive, a British tech company, believes that its innovation could help clean up Earth's congested orbit, as well as creating a cutting-edge engine
Magdrive, a British tech company, believes that its innovation could help clean up Earth’s congested orbit, as well as creating a cutting-edge engine - @SpaceWatchGL/X.com

Spacecraft could soon be powered by space junk collected in orbit with a new engine that runs on scrap metal.

British tech startup Magdrive is developing a groundbreaking propulsion system which turns aluminium or copper into plasma to create thrust.

With an estimated 10,000 tonnes of debris floating in space, the company believes that the innovation could help clean up Earth’s congested orbit, as well as creating a cutting-edge engine.

It could even lead to satellites being able to cannibalise the casings that protect them during launch and recycle them as fuel after they have left the atmosphere.

Mark Stokes, chief executive of Magdrive, said: “There were no dinosaurs in space, so there is no chemical fuel, which means everyone has to bring their own propellant from Earth.

“It’s like building a new train every time you leave the station. So if you want to start building huge structures in space, or habitats for human beings, you need to find something different than existing propulsion. So we took a whole new approach.”

The innovation could enable satellites to cannibalise the casings that protect them during launch and recycle them as fuel
The innovation could enable satellites to cannibalise the casings that protect them during launch and recycle them as fuel

The new system works by feeding a small chunk of metal into a plasma injector where it is ionised using stored power from solar panels and turned into super hot, dense plasma. The plasma can then be shot out in gas form as a stream of bullets to produce thrust.

Currently companies working in space are limited by how much fuel they can carry from Earth, meaning they can only use their powerful thrusters sparingly.

Although solar-powered systems exist for long-term missions - generating thrust by shooting out particles of ionising gas - these produce very little force and are not good at quick, precise manoeuvring.

Magdrive believes that its plasma drive will have both power and longevity, and be able to be refuelled in space by companies collecting space junk or mining asteroids. It could allow satellites and other spacecraft to last three times as long.

Mr Stokes added: “Being able to alter the amount of power we put into the metal means we can tune it completely on the fly, and anyone can use a single propulsion system to do all these manoeuvres in space.

“We can use any solid metal. The initial thing is having to process the space metal, and commercial companies are looking at how exactly they do that, and we are talking to them early so we can get it in the form we want.”

Some 400,000 satellites have been approved globally for low Earth orbit, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX alone poised to launch another 44,000 for its Starlink internet constellation.

Experts have predicted that once all the planned internet constellations are operational there will be around 16,000 decaying satellites at any one time that will need to come out of orbit.

Not only are the dead satellites clogging up valuable orbit space but they risk setting off a major disaster. If one hits another, it could trigger a phenomenon known as the Kessler Effect, where debris from the collision creates a multiplying chain reaction of crashes.

Dead satellites in Earth orbit risk setting off a major disaster in space
Dead satellites in Earth orbit risk setting off a major disaster in space

Mr Stokes added: “Space is getting very congested and by the end of the decade satellites may need to make weekly manoeuvres to avoid hitting each other.

“That will mean chemical fuel systems will get used up very quickly and electrical systems don’t get you out of the way consistently.”

Speaking of the possibility of satellites using their own outer casings as fuel, he added: “80 per cent of the mass of a satellite is there to survive the launch and once it’s in place it doesn’t need all of that.

“That is perfect feed for the Magdrive so we’re also looking into developing self-eating ouroboric satellites.”

Size of a dishwasher

Magdrive, which was founded in 2019 and is based at the Harwell innovation and science campus, in Oxfordshire, has already raised more than £5 million in investment and grants, including funding from the UK Space Agency.

The company is set to begin in-space tests of its first small propulsion systems - named Rogue and Warlock - next year, before scaling up to the SuperMagDrive in 2027, which will be the size of a dishwasher.

As well as domestic satellites, spacecraft and constellations, the team also hope the technology will be useful for military purposes. Currently ground bases stations can track military satellites, but the Magdrive would allow satellites to make small trajectory adjustments to confuse the trackers.

The company has spoken to UK Space Command and US Space Force about the technology.